Police officer shoots pit bull

CLAIREMONT MESA  A 1-year-old pit bull was euthanized after being shot four times by a police officer in Clairemont Mesa Sunday morning.

Officers were called to Derrick Avenue and Genesee Drive just before 7 a.m. after a woman called to say the dog and another pit bull were loose and aggressively menacing people including an elderly couple, San Diego police said.

The woman had to jump into the back of a pickup to get away from them, police said.

When officers arrived the dogs charged at them prompting one officer to open fire. One of the dogs was hit four times and the other ran off into a canyon, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county’s Department of Animal Services.